


Starting Point (Prologue)

by Effenay



Series: 49 Juniper League [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Politics, Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Blood Magic, Gen, Mystic Isles, Original Character(s), Original Universe, Original World, Politics, Secret Organizations, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-03
Updated: 2016-09-03
Packaged: 2018-08-12 16:51:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7941925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Effenay/pseuds/Effenay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In an alternative reality where myths and legends entwine with reality, there existed an archipelago known as the Mystic Isles. The mass of isles were filled with residents who bore talents that shaped the world for the sake of protecting its anonymity from the outside world. Such talents and endowments were abilities that no normal human being could attain; as their roots were sprung from the environment of the area. Due the unnatural nature of the lands; the native residents were born with a body that does not age for a very long time. Their body clock slows down by the time they reached puberty, as the adolescent stage extends for a span of 50 or less years than that of an average human being. Whether it was out of selfishness or for the sake of the whole world, the Mystic Isles were kept hidden from the outside world for one of these reasons alone. For the sake of the preservation of its secrecy, many organisations where made out of sworn secrecy to protect the existence of the Mystic Isles and as well as keeping the world from further harm from other worldly affairs. This is the tale of one organisation that had kept its promise for the sake of this enchanted Archipelago.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> To all who bother: this is a story I haven't touched for years. Not even finished. But if I get enough hits (and possibly kudos) it might give me the motivation to finish this once and for all. I thought archiving it in this website might save me from the pain of losing another precious document before my computer crashes.
> 
> So, to all who bother to even read this: thank you. If you are interested in this story, please by all means drop a comment and tell me your thoughts.

In an alternative reality where myths and legends entwine with reality, there existed an archipelago known as the _Mystic Isles._ The mass of isles were filled with residents who bore talents that shaped the world for the sake of protecting its anonymity from the outside world. Such talents and endowments were abilities that no normal human being could attain; as their roots were sprung from the environment of the area. To say where or why these abilities were granted upon these residents remained a mystery. The nature of the environment of the Mystic Isles in itself was a mystery.

Such questions like: “why does this archipelago not appear in satellite images” or “how come the Mystic Isles are hidden from the rest of the world” were often asked by the youth of those who reside in there. Only the youth who reached their 50th year would understand. Due the unnatural nature of the lands; the native residents were born with a body that does not age for a very long time. Their body clock slows down by the time they reached puberty, as the adolescent stage extends for a span of 50 or less years than that of an average human being. Whether it was out of selfishness or for the sake of the whole world, the Mystic Isles were kept hidden from the outside world for one of these reasons alone.

For the sake of the preservation of its secrecy, many organisations where made out of sworn secrecy to protect the existence of the Mystic Isles and as well as keeping the world from further harm from other worldly affairs.

This is the tale of one organisation that had kept its promise for the sake of this enchanted Archipelago.

_Who am I? I am a red haired, half-crazed idiot who doesn’t learn a clue from second hand experience._

“What the heck is this?” Celadine asked. Puzzled by the series of letters that had been piling up for the past few months; Celadine knew she had no choice but to beg from her _‘parents’_ to buy her an extra shelf.

“This is the–” Celadine counted her fingers. “Twenty-seventh riddle in a letter I received. Just what on earth is going on?!”

“It’s obviously a prank, Cel,” Harris pointed his fork at her. “Who knows? Maybe the guy wanted to give you a love letter but ended handing you his failed attempts.”

“ _Guy?_ ” Celadine dubiously darted at her brother. “Are you trying to tell me that you know this guy?”

“I’m not implying anything,” Harris said bluntly. “It was only a guess.”

“Whoever it was, I would rather have them walk up to me and say it to my face than cower in the shadows,” Celadine crumpled the paper. “Seriously, am I that untouchable?”

Harris chuckled then cleared his throat. “Clearly,” he muttered.

 _Ugh,_ Celadine grimaced at her brother. _You had to rub that in my face._

“Anyway,” Celadine sighed. “I suppose that there is nothing else that I could do with that part.”

“Why not give it a try?” Harris’ ambiguous expression made her question whether it was encouragement or some form of challenge. “Hunt down the individuals who fit the profile of the riddles. That could be a start.”

“Is that a challenge?” Celadine darkened. “Are you trying to tell me that I have to hunt them like some kind of treasure hunt?”

“Oh, come on,” Harris tapped the table with his finger. “I am not trying to force you on these things; I’m only suggesting them. It’s your choice to take it or leave it.”

“I suppose,” Celadine reluctantly agreed. “But seriously, what am I going to do with twenty-seven riddles that described a profile of twenty-seven individuals? What happens if I do meet these people?”

“You are actually agreeing with me,” Harris said in his amusement.

“Shut up, I am only taking your suggestion.”

In the main dining area of the mansion, a handful of individuals all fixed their eyes on the two bickering siblings. It wasn’t new for the likes of Celadine and Harris; even so, this was also something that never failed to irritate the two of them. Realizing this, the two unanimously finished their meals quickly and hastened to the exit. By the time the two left the dining hall, a clamour of laughter was heard from a meter or so.

“They’re still at it, I see,” Harris shook his head hopelessly. “What good is there to see two siblings talk about their daily problems?”

“I don’t get it either,” Celadine shrugged. “If anything, I feel like they were playing some kind of game on us.”

Harris stopped at his tracks, with Celadine stopping at a meter distance from him. Turning her heel, Celadine found herself a grim look on her brother’s face.

“Wait a sec…” Harris began darkly. “Cela.”

“What is it?”

“How long has it been since you started receiving those letters?”

Celadine pondered for a moment. Recalling from her memories, the prank had begun three months ago. Celadine could still recall the pain of receiving the same anonymous envelope at an unpredictable timeframe.

“Three months,” Celadine answered.

“And,” Harris continued. “When did they start giving us weird looks?”

Celadine raised a brow. “Are you trying to imply that-!”

Celadine,” Harris smiled with a half-pity, half-mocking look in his eyes. “I think you were fooled.”

“What?” Celadine froze.

“You were fooled,” Harris repeated, patting her head with pitying eyes. “Think about it.”

Celadine’s mouth fell as she gave a mortified look at her brother’s sudden revelation. A deep, dark rage climbed up to her head.

“Those pigs,” Celadine began in a murderous rage. “ARE GONNA PAY!!”

* * *

 

“Hah, hah ah-hah!” Irene held her waist tightly with a boisterous laugh in front of an already-agitated Celadine. “You were too slow to pick that up!”

Celadine and her friend Irene sat in the corner of the mansion’s lobby. The mansion happened to be owned by the two rulers of Gildaar; the central isle of the Mystic Isles as well as the largest isle of the whole Archipelago. The _Telenars_ (Gildaar’s two leaders) were often stationed to live within the mansion as appointed by the oracle who oversaw the Mystic Isles existence.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Celadine began pulling her hair. “You knew this the whole time?!”

“It was your fault,” Irene wheezed, trying to swallow a giggle. “You should have realized that the description of the profiles matched the rest of your colleges.”

“Who can blame me for a horrible memory of faces?!” Celadine barked. Irene exploded into another period of laughter. Celadine gave up trying to hold up her dignity. _Of all the lousy ways of doing it,_ Celadine pouted at the thought.

“So,” Irene asked exasperatedly. “What did you do after your brother told you everything?”

“Well,” Celadine began, only to stop herself midway. Averting her eyes from eye-contact, she pouted; “Not telling.”

“Aw, come on,” Irene goaded. “Really, what happened?”

Celadine’s face reddened at the memory. After her brother’s realisation, she stormed into the dining hall.

_“Okay, that’s it. WHO OF YOU ANIMALS ARE WILLING TO BEG FOR MERCY?!”_

The whole dining hall was silent for a split second, only to suddenly explode with mouthfuls of laughter and jeering.

_“You finally realised?!”_

_“About time!”_

_“Never expect anything less from Cela!”_

As she looked back at the thought, Celadine had the urge to slam her head into the wall a thousand times into her grave rather than having to put up with the humiliation.

“Just kill me now,” she said hopelessly. “I can’t face a crowd like that. Not like this. Not like this!”

“Geez,” Irene smiled. “If you were any closer to retirement, I think many people are never gonna forget you for it.”

“If I wanted to be a clown, I would be doing these things on purpose,” Celadine gritted her teeth. “I didn’t sign up for this to be a laughing stock!”

“No one can blame anyone but you,” Irene said in a matter-of-fact manner. “You have to learn how to hold back. If you don’t want these kinds of games, you have to learn how to not react to their jeering.”

“If only that was easy,” Celadine muttered. “If it were not for Harris holding me back, I think I would have been evicted from this job.”

“Your brother sure knows how to handle you,” Irene remarked.

“What can you expect from siblings who have been together for their whole lifetime,” Celadine said with a shrug. “That guy and I have been friends since I was born.”

“I wish my siblings were like that,” Irene said.

Celadine was proud of having Harris as her older brother. With a one year gap, the two managed to stick together like war buddies who endured the same hardships in battle. For many outsiders, the two siblings shared no resemblance with each other; so therefore it was easy to mistaken the two as a couple.

“I guess you could say he was my first playmate,” Celadine added. “A first friend too.”

“If you go deeper than that, people are gonna think the wrong way,” Irene said maliciously.

“Dude, if you are gonna start speculating some forbidden romance between siblings, you are going to make me sick of it,” Celadine chided in a threatening manner.

“That was a joke,” Irene chuckled.

“A bad one,” Celadine cut of her off.

“But anyway,” Irene changed the subject. “I hope that you won’t be one of those individuals who will drop out like flies on the job.”

“Why say that?” Celadine asked.

“Haven’t you noticed it already?”

“Noticed what?”

“Thirty people dropped in the span of 4 months,” Irene explained. “They all left due to circumstances, pressure or even out of sheer laziness.”

“Oh,” Celadine nodded. “If that is the case, then why am I still here?”

“I should be asking you that,” Irene said under her breath. “You may look like the type who could ace an exam, but the truth is, your laziness in almost beyond compare.”

“Is that spite, I hear from you?” Celadine coyly asked.

“Of course!” Irene blurted. “You are capable of doing so much more, and yet you do a half-baked job towards that potential. Not to mention that we, the hard-working ones have to work our butts off to reach the top!”

“Eh, heh, heh,” Celadine scratched her head as she smiled to conceal her embarrassment.

“Wipe that smirk off your face,” Irene threw Celadine a light slap on the face.

Celadine flinched at the small impact. “Hey!”

“What are you two doing?”

Celadine jolted at the sound of a familiar aggressive tone. Looking up, Celadine saw her childhood friend, Linda Tinders glowering with the intention of intimidation.

“Linda?” Celadine hesitated, sweating bullets as her nerves trembled at the overpowering presence.

“You,” Linda darted. “You have the balls to call your senior in such a familiar manner?!”

“Eeep!” Celadine squeaked.

“Pfft!” Linda’s laugh was muffled by her hand. “Classic.”

“Linda!” Celadine clenched her fists as she pounded at the tall woman. “Don’t scare me like that!”

“Hey, ow, that hurts,” Linda grabbed Celadine’s wrists. “Geeze, can’t you take a joke?”

“You deserved it!” Celadine threw it back at her.

“If only you’d understand why so many people pick on you,” Linda folded her arms and sat next to Celadine.

“See? This is exactly what I mean,” Irene jeered in a triumphant manner. “I told you, you react too easily.”

“But where’s the fun in that if she won’t be able to do that?” Linda chuckled.

“Just what do you take me for?” Celadine grumbled.

The two answered at the same time:

“A cry-baby.”

“A hopeless idiot.”

“So much for friends,” Celadine grumbled further.

“So anyway,” Linda changed the subject. “You are needed.”

Celadine was still in a pouting mood. “I don’t care.”

“You’ll lose your job,” Linda goaded with a harsh smile on her face.

“Oh, come on, how many times are you gonna do that?!” Celadine stood up.

Brushing off Celadine’s retort, Linda continued; “The Eagle’s council needs you right now. As much as it pains me to say it, but I think that the SGI and the Eagle’s Council need the Juniper League Assistance Corp at the moment.”

In the Mystic Isles, there are three large scale organisations that dominate the entire planet: the Secret Global Inteligence (SGI), the Eagle’s Council and the Juniper League Assistance Corp (also known as Juniper League or JLAC).

The SGI are the most dominant and the largest organisation in the entire planet. Although it was initially founded by the Northern Realms (also known as the world we live); the SGI’s main interest was to maintain a foundation of peace between worlds and avoiding large scale mishaps within the world (whether it be a World War or an invasion between the Mystic Isles or the Northern Realms).

The Eagle’s Council’s jurisdiction is mainly focused on the Mystic Isle affairs as well as keeping an old promise made between the predecessor of the Organisation and the guards who were the first members of the council. The Eagle’s Council was by far, the oldest existing organisation that had spanned throughout many centuries.

The Juniper League, however, falls on a different line of work, despite it being a semi-large scale organisation. The Juniper League was initially a unit that sprung from the SGI, where its members were made up of the surplus members of the large organisation. Unlike other sections of the SGI, JLAC was made up of many demoted members or newbies who couldn’t fit the bill in certain sections of the SGI. Although the initial intentions for this unit was genuine, having the members find ways to climb their ways up the ladder to harness new skills; in the end, the unit was treated no more than lapdogs or errand boys for those members of the higher class.

The unit’s leader, Zion Gertrude asked permission from the head of the SGI to make the unit become independent from the SGI after the many harsh treatments that were given to the unit’s members. After a long debate that had lasted for twelve years, the unit was separated from the large-scale company.

Due to the fact that JLAC was separated from the SGI, the League had to struggle to maintain its existence due to the shortage of funds and lack of resources. Because the former units had their experience of dealing with odd jobs and errands, the league took that skill as an advantage to become mercenaries for the sake of the survival of this new organisation.

It was just a mere coincidence that Celadine and her friend Irene happened to take part of this unfortunate league.

“Oh, right,” Celadine tilted her head towards Linda’s direction. “For what honour does the former Juniper League member want with us?”

“Oh, come on, you know me better than that,” Linda casually said. “It’s not like I have forgotten my position as a former league member. Besides, I think the beef between the two parties should have settled by now. It’s been so long, I’ve lost count.

“But anyway,” Linda stood up and whispered; “I cannot clarify this information, but rumours say that there are some members of your side are trying to patch up with our side. I don’t know where this is gonna go, but I think that you guys are going to experience a lot of friction from your side and mine.”

“Are you serious?” Celadine hissed a whisper.

Linda gave a quick reply; “No, it’s just a rumour.”

“But if that happens, then what will you do?”

“Brace for the worst.”

“What is it? What is it?” Irene tugged at Celadine’s sleeve. Celadine had forgotten that Irene was still part of the conversation. “What are you guys talking about?”

“I’ll fill you in some other time,” Celadine assured her. Turning to Linda, she said; “You still haven’t answered my question: why are we summoned by the two leading organisations?”

“Oh that,” Linda brushed Celadine off. “Your team need to be in the third conference hall in the second floor by 2:00 am. There will be public officials there; along with my senior officers and some Garious Guards from the council. Best behave yourselves, because your team was chosen for this one task.”

“What about you?” Celadine asked. “Are you going to be there?”

“Sorry, but I’ll be patrolling the roof by that time.” And with that statement, Linda disappeared into the stairway.

After a short moment of silence, Irene spoke out; “So, remind me again; how long have you two known each other?”

“Who knows,” Celadine shrugged. “She was initially just a neighbour who fell for a man who once abducted her in her childhood.”

“Huh?!”

“That was a joke,” Celadine scoffed at her own remark. “She’s just loyal to any figure of authority. If anything, I think she thinks of her superior as another father figure or something like that.”

“Ah,” Irene said despite the puzzled look on her face.

Celadine explained; “from my experience with her, Linda has always been the loyal type; the sort of girl who would yield to any form of authority that strikes a chord when it came in line with her principles and beliefs. If anything, her firm stance is admirable. It’s just too bad that her suitors couldn’t see past that image as a strong woman.”

“No wonder,” Irene muttered.

“Anyway,” Celadine stretched her arms in the air. “At least we need to be prepared when our squad leader will call out the order.”

Irene giggled.

“What’s so funny?”

“It’s funny,” Irene stood up beside Celadine. “It’s funny that in the end, we’ll always be the first to know about our orders.”

Celadine smiled. “Trust Linda when it comes to first-hand information.”

“What can you expect in a hopeless League like ours?”

“Don’t push your luck, Irene. This is the only path to greater heights.”

 

There was a sound of a trickle of water running down the sewers. The after showers had caused the roof to overflow with large quantities of rainwater into the edge of the building. There was a struggle on the surface of the tiles; two men who were at each other’s throats in a voiceless argument. It just so happens that Celadine happened to have witnessed this taking place.

“What am I seeing?” Celadine muttered.

 _“Well,”_ a familiar voice said. _“I suppose you’ll have to figure this one out yourself.”_

Celadine stretched out her hand to the direction of the two men.

_“I suppose you understand what this all about, now. Don’t you?”_

“It’s too obvious,” Celadine shrugged. “The two of them are two sides of the party. Parts of them have grudges towards each other. I guess that’s somehow related to the conversations I have earlier, isn’t it?”

_“If you do understand, then I suppose you recognised this one?”_

The rainwater that flowed out of the roof gutters suddenly drowned the whole scenery. A loud cry of a deep, monstrous roar was heard from a distance; only to have it muffled by the overflow of water. It was so sudden to Celadine when she realised that the water had already been up to her neck. The girl responded in a panic.

 _“This is as far as it goes,”_ the voice continued. _“The rest, you’ll have to figure out the next time.”_

Celadine turned her back to find a man dressed in a grey overcoat; floating in the air above the water. The man smiled sadly as the water reached her eyes.

 

Celadine woke up in a startle. Stirring up from her bed, she reached for her watch. 1:15 am.

 _Time to get up,_ Celadine muttered.

For many years, Celadine was able to interpret her dreams as it ties in with the reality that she was living in. And every time she was able to do so, the same man in a grey, rugged overcoat would always be there as some form of tutor when it came to learning how to interpret dreams.

 _Who was that man anyway?_ Celadine asked herself every so often.

As she reminisced at the memory, she knew who the two men were on the roof. _The SGI and the Juniper League._

“So, the tensions between the two parties still haven’t settled,” Celadine came to that conclusion. “This is going to be tough.”


	2. Chapter 2

In the mansion of the Telenars, a handful of part-time members of any organisation were often given the opportunity to work as security for the Telenars. Linda, Celadine and her brother Harris though, happened to become permanent watchdogs in annual shifts that often lasted for a period of six months or so. All who worked in the mansion were allowed to become temporary residents for as long as they are in their annual shifts. However, their rooms were shared with their fellow workmen; with twenty-nine personnel residing in a room that was similar to that of a military bunker with bunk-beds.

Celadine and Irene shared the bunk-bed; with Irene on the top and Celadine in the bottom. By the time Celadine was fully awake, the top bed squeaked as Irene’s flowing hair drooping on the edge of the bed.

“Morning,” Irene mumbled.

“We’ve got less than an hour till the meeting starts,” Celadine reminded. “Did you call up the others?”

Irene croaked; “Yes, but I think they’ll be here in twenty-five minutes. What’s the time?”

“1:25,” Celadine peeked at her watch.

“Oh, then they might already be here.”

Celadine rolled out of bed, her hair ruffled up like a bristled brush.

“Knots,” Irene pointed out. With that said Irene tugged at the lock of hair and began to split apart the knots of hair. Celadine winced at her friend’s heaving.

“Aurgh!” Celadine grunted. “Ow! Do you have to start this early in the morning?!”

“Hush,” Irene croaked. “I don’t want to hear your screaming voice in the morning.”

“You sound like you had too much to drink,” Celadine gritted.

“You are too chirpy,” Irene pulled apart the last knot with a violent wrench.

Celadine gasped in pain. “Ow,” she groaned.

“Ahem,” one of their neighbouring roommates darted an agitated look.

“Oh, sorry,” Celadine gave a timid bow. The woman then shuffled under the bed sheets to lie on her side.

Irene silently handed a brush to Celadine as she scuffled her way down.

After they changed into their uniforms, the two ascended into the next floor; only to be greeted by the rest of their squad members. Harris nodded to Celadine as their squad leader Opus Harold Umber descended the stairs in his usual stiff fashion.

“Umber, sir,” Celadine greeted as she and Irene nodded in greeting. Since the Juniper League was not entirely a military-based organisation, the need to address superiors in a high regard was almost unnecessary.

“Horus, Tranis,” Umber nodded back to the two. “Are you fully aware of the situation?”

“No sir, we don’t know why we were summoned by the two organisations,” Celadine answered. “We only know we were summoned.”

“I suppose this assignment is special then,” Umber concluded, admitting his lack of awareness of the request.

“That’s the problem,” Harris sighed. “Despite severing our ties with the SGI, they still managed to keep us under their thumb. Whether we are united or not, we’d always end up bowing ourselves to their orders.”

“Mercenaries don’t choose,” Umber reminded. “They only beg to get paid.”

Harris opened his mouth, only to have it closed. With the worried look on his face, Celadine knew how much her brother wanted to justify their line of work.

The sound of a click and clack echoed from the corridors as a silhouette emerged against the moonlight. As the figure came closer; it then revealed itself to be one of their squad members, Lysias.

“Am I late?” Lysias asked.

“Not so,” Umber reassured. “I think the meeting’s almost about to start.”

Lysias pulled his sleeve and stared at the direction of his wrist.

“What time is it?” Celadine asked him.

“1:46,” Lysias answered and scratched his head. “You know, I have been wondering why a new squad like us are given requests by the two main organisations. Seriously, it’s almost absurd that we; not the more experienced squads are called so suddenly.”

“Maybe they don’t know that we are the novice squad,” Ren mumbled, who didn’t participate in their conversation earlier.

Celadine averted her eyes to the short adolescent who happened to be sitting on the bench in the staircase landing.

“For whatever the reason,” Yew added to Ren’s comment. “I suppose this one request won’t be as challenging or as hard as we could expect. For instance; the request might involve extra hands on desk jobs or even put us on the frontlines in one of their battles…” Yew hunched her back.

“You do realise what you just said, right?” Irene furrowed her brow, hinting a slight concern.

Despairingly, Yew replied; “Yep… But just at the thought… of… facing death at a… very young age….”

“Geez, you say that now after you got into this job?” Irene scoffed. “You should have known what’s coming the moment you said ‘yes’ to the offer. Sometimes I wonder how many idiots didn’t realise the kind of hell they are going to get through.”

Harris added; “either way, our aim is to aim for the top, right?”

“No, not really,” Lysias nonchalantly said.

“No ambition, huh,” Harris said sarcastically.

“What makes you any different from us?”

Harris chuckled.

“He’s not gonna answer to a cocky tone like that one,” Celadine orated.

“Here we go,” Ren groaned.

“Enough,” Umber interjected. “Discussions about fulfilled dreams and ambitions can be put on hold for the moment. It takes us about seven minutes to get to the conference room from here; I was hoping we’d get there earlier before it starts. At the very least, we have to make an impression towards the two major organisations to avoid a bad reputation in schedule.”

“Only two minutes went past,” Lysias checked his watch. “I suppose we’d have to go then.”

Obediently, all six of them followed Umber up to the second floor’s hallway in low voices. Even around this time of day, there would still be a handful of night-owls who were still up; whether they were patrolling or holding strategy meetings in one of the conference halls. Among the security staff patrolling the hallway, a child-like youth with golden braids waved at Umber.

“Explorer,” Umber nodded at the girl.

The girl took her leave from the two men in patrol and skipped her way towards the officer. “Good evening, Opus, I see you’ve grown older,” she smiled.

Umber coyly asked; “And I suppose you are the reason for this errand?”

“Partly,” the girl admitted. “But it has to do with the current situation in the western isles.”

From where Celadine was, her observation between the two gave the impression that the Umber and the girl were somewhat related. _What is this; it looks like a child reprimanding an adult._ Judging from the girl’s mature, yet child-like mannerism; Celadine considered the possibility that the girl could be older than what she may appear to be.

Celadine’s curiosity perked her interests and whispered to Harris; “Who’s the girl?”

Harris muttered under his breath; his words inaudible to be heard.

“Sorry? Say that again,” Celadine’s whisper came out with a hiss.

Harris placed his index finger against his lips.

“Something wrong?” Irene asked.

“Nothing,” Celadine quickly said.

“I think it’s best that you should hear the details in the meeting,” the girl recommended to Umber.

“But haven’t you said too much already?” Umber asked.

The girl smiled warmly with a chuckle.

“I bet she’ll turn out to be a looker when she hits our age,” Ren mumbled from behind Celadine.

“Fallen for her then?” Celadine jeered in a hushed voice.

“I’m not that stupid,” Ren retorted in a ‘ _humph’._

“Pay attention,” hissed Umber. “We are already here.”

The squad drew close to the conference doors with a handful of officers standing by. Celadine recognised the black, long snorkel parkas were the SGI uniforms and had already figured out the rest were the Eagle’s Council officers.

Umber straightened out before the officers as the golden-haired girl trotted away from his side. Celadine and the rest of the squad followed their leader with a salute. One of the superior officers in black returned a salute.

“Protection officer Umber; reporting as requested, sir!”

“At ease,” the superior said.

Umber eased his stance with the rest following him.

“Punctual,” one of the other SGI officers remarked sternly. “I think this is one’s a good catch.”

“I am impressed,” the superior officer complimented. “You arrived at least ten minutes early. I think you show more promise to us than the last squad we requested.”

 _Ten minutes?_ Celadine wrinkled her brows. _It took us seven minutes to come here, right? So how were we ten minutes early when we were supposedly three minutes early? Unless…_

Celadine’s eyes pointed to Lysias; in the inside, Celadine felt the urge to ruffle his neatly combed hair.

Two security officers then opened the conference doors for the two parties to enter, followed by Celadine’s squad right after. The conference room was a wide room with a long table plonked in the middle of it. Although the mansion’s exterior and certain areas of the interior had kept some aesthetic and traditional designs; the conference room has a contemporary design that contrasted to the rest of the mansion’s other rooms. So it was common for anyone to have a reaction as soon as they stepped into the room.

Celadine opened her mouth as she gaped at the sudden shift, only to have Harris lift her jaw to close it.

The officers took their seats, leaving the squad to remain standing.

“Before we start this meeting, I’d like to thank all of you for coming,” A red-haired officer orated. “And I would like to thank the Juniper League for coming to this meeting on behalf of the SGI and the Eagle’s council; considering that it is held at such a late hour.”

“The sooner we begin this meeting, the better,” a middle-aged officer snarled. “You may sit down now.”

The seven sat on the chairs that were offered to them.

“I want to know, sir,” Umber began. “Why is the JLAC needed in this task? Isn’t your agents good enough for you?”

“We have our hands full on another case,” the officer gruffly spoke. “That should not be your concern right now.”

The red-haired officer posed a question; “Squad number 49, are you familiar with Berene, the land of diamonds?”

Celadine jerked at the question while the rest of the members silently remained still.

“You do know that the legendary land was discovered very recently, am I wrong?” the officer paused. “Then I take you silence as a yes.

“You see,” she continued, “After the discovery of Berene, there has been a stir within the whole archipelago; spreading the news that the legendary land existed. However, a handful of individuals who were involved with the expedition have been missing for the past couple of months. It was just so recently did we find ten bodies of the missing. Our agents and task force have been on the hunt for the rest of the missing explorers, so we are short of extra hands.”

“So you want us to aid your search for these explorers?” Umber asked.

“No,” the officer shook her head. “We have called you for another reason. To make this brief, the entire exploration team who were led by Admiral Spike are being targeted by a group of terrorists. Some of the men from the Eagle’s council and SGI have been protecting the explorers; however, we are unable protect all of them due to the shortage of staff on either organisations. You: squad 49 are going to aid us in protecting those who were in charge of the Berenian expedition.”

Yew swallowed hard as Ren and Irene appeared to be squirming on their seats in clear discomfort. Celadine blinked. It was the squad’s first task and it had already seemed like it was bound to fail; considering the members’ lack of experience. Truly, these men before them were foolish enough to send greenhorns into the line of fire.

Despite the squad members’ clear display of anxiety; the officer continued to elaborate the task; “You will be protecting the following individuals: Conway While, the Explorer, Daniel Goodshot, Irin Jay Hues and Admiral Bartholomew Spike.

Celadine almost gaged at the mention of the title of “Admiral”. The rest of the squad flinched and gripped their seats tighter (only Umber and Ren weren’t stirred).

“Conway While was the man who proved the existence of Berene; at the moment he is in safe hands of Eagle’s Council. However, he insisted that he should be by the Admiral’s side for the time being; so we intended to let him have his way for as long as protection will be available to him, The Explorer as you have seen is already in the mansion’s premises. Daniel Goodshot at the moment is also in the mansion’s premises, but his face must not be shown in public without a guard. Irin Jay Hues is in the SGI’s hands, but the agent who took care of him was severely injured after one of the terrorists ambushed him.

“The Admiral though,” the officer chuckled. “Despite his position as Admiral of this country’s navy and his claims to be able to defend himself, we are putting you in charge of his safety as well just in case.”

From the corner of Celadine’s eye, she thought she saw Yew’s face slowly turned pale.

“I trust that we could rely on your cooperation,” the officer continued. “And if your squad are able to avoid a single scratch on one these people; we will consider giving a recommendation-“

A _thud_ brought the whole room silent as Celadine found Yew on the carpet floor. _You fainted?!!_ Celadine interpreted Umber’s mortified expression. Umber stood up and collected his fallen subordinate.

“Is something wrong with your subordinate, Officer Umber?”

“Not at all, sir,” Umber quickly said, breaking a sweat as he hastily collected Yew from the floor, “She’s just anaemic.”

“You have an anaemic in your squad, officer?”

 _Great job, sir,_ Celadine thought in sarcasm.

“She’s just passionate about her line of work sir. In fact, she most probably built up so much excitement for this moment, sir.”

Celadine gritted her teeth. _REALLY, GREAT JOB, SIR!_

The officer looked pessimistic, “Dreams and motivations are not going to be enough for this mission, Mr Umber. This mission is a high priority for not only the SGI, not only for the JLAC, but for the Island of Gildaar and the rest of the Mystic Isles. The question is; Can we rely on your squadron?”

“Yes Sir. These people could not be in better hands!”

A sudden urge of the desire to join Yew was almost overwhelming for Celadine. _We. Are. Going. To. Die._

At the end of the meeting; Umber’s squad was dismissed from the conference room. By the time the security officers closed their doors; the whole squad members slumped and fell on their knees. Celadine however had a different reaction.

“WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU THINKING?!!!”

Umber clapped his hand to her mouth and dragged her out of the hallway as he hollered the rest of the squad to follow.

“Not so loud, do you want to ruin us all?” Umber hissed at Celadine by the time they reached the platform of the stairway. “It’s almost 3:00 am; there are guests still sleeping; the officers are still up there; what do you think would happen if they would hear that from one of my squadron?!”

“ _Anaemic; ANAEMIC?!_ What in the world drove you to think of that excuse?!” Celadine bellowed, trembling with an uncontrollable rage.

Before Celadine could continue, Yew added; “Officer Umber, why the heck did you suddenly say that I was the _‘best of the best’_ of all the rookies in the recruitment? Do you have any idea how low my endurance test results were when I was still in college?! I can’t even last for two meters in an endurance run.” Yew paused, “Actually, wait; THAT’S NOT EVEN THE POINT! YOU ACCEPTED THE MISSION?! You’ll kill us all!” Yew screamed as she gripped Umber’s collar.

Celadine jerked at the sight of the despair from Yew’s bloodshot eyes.

“Get your hands off me,” Umber brushed her away, “Is that the way you treat your superior officer?”

“Yeah, a superior officer who’ll get us all killed,” Ren quietly retorted.

Umber darted a glare at Ren.

“Look,” Umber admitted. “When you are with the Juniper League, you have to follow the one principle that makes this system work: fight your way to the top. Although we are treated as the ‘Assistance _Corp’_ by the other leading organisations; however, we are still no different from mercenaries who rely on their pay check. This request is the best opportunity to boost our funding and demand for the league. If we are able to succeed in this task; we might be able to have a recommendation by these people themselves.”

“But the ranks, sir,” Yew insisted. “ _Our_ ranks are almost an equivalent to greenhorns! I joined this squad because I took the advantage that it was still a new squad. I thought newbies are not supposed to be given life-threatening jobs like becoming a human shield for these people!”

“You should have broadened your horizon before you agreed to join this league!” Umber chided. “Look, we are not heroes; if anything, we are even lower than a vigilante. If you expected to find a walk-in-the-park in this job, then you might as well quit and find a desk job to work in. In this world, there may be setbacks that you could use as a safety net, but you won’t be able to learn through the easy way out. Situations like these requires you to bite the bullet on this, understood?!”

Yew stepped back at the officer’s words. Celadine bit her lip; with Umber’s words, it made her look like a spoiled brat. Despite his words were for Yew, she felt as though he was reprimanding her instead.

“I want an answer,” Umber pushed the subject even further. “I want an answer from all of you: are you in or not?”

Celadine answered in reflex; “Yes, sir!”

“Oh? What about the rest of you?”

The squad responded with a salute with the exception of Yew; “Yes, sir!”

The officer’s eyes then shifted to Yew. Celadine felt the uncertainty and fear in Yew’s troubled expression.

“Yes sir,” Yew stuttered her words.

“Good,” Umber said with satisfaction. “You are bound by the contract by choice. If you want to get out, there will be a condition that your memories will be erased. These big corporations or some whatnot government agencies don’t want anyone to possess any closed information from ordinary citizens. Retirement is another thing, but to quit the job would push you out into the streets.”

“Yikes,” Harris winced. “I know losing memories isn’t much of a bad thing; it’s just that I don’t like the thought of doing that, especially when if it’s me or Celadine.”

Celadine turned to her brother and faintly smiled; as she understood what Harris was talking about.  
Since the beginning, the two siblings spent the majority of their childhood in the League, playing games within the main facility. The two possessed the knowledge of the whole campus like the back of their hands. Celadine understood what was at stake if they were to leave while possessing that knowledge would be dangerous for the whole organization. If either of them were to leave and have their memories erased; their childhood would also be erased from their memories.

“There’s no way we could leave JLAC after all we had been through,” Harris continued on, “Might as well say that the league itself became my very own home.”

“I’d figure you’d say that,” Umber smiled wryly. “But it’s just the matter of endurance. If you can survive long enough and endure the tasks you are given, then that’s a given. But I can guarantee that no matter how strong your will is; there’s no doubt that you won’t ever be the same once you set foot in this path. Be prepared for the worst, because sometimes circumstances might drive you into a corner and break you.”

“You sound like you went through it before sir,” Lysias spoke with a hint of curiosity.

“There’s no denying that I have been through it,” Umber admitted. The officer then landed a fist onto his palm. “That said; remember that we will be picking up our four guests by noon tomorrow. In the meantime, all of you pack your bags and get some sleep; tomorrow will be a busy day. You are dismissed.”

“Yes sir!” the entire squad saluted.

The squad dispersed into different directions; leaving Celadine, Irene, Harris and Yew in the staircase platform.

“My life is over,” Yew said hopelessly; leaning against the wall.

Harris gave out a sigh, “you really are hopeless. I don’t mean to be rude, but, really. If you are afraid of facing stuff like this; then why did you join the league?”

“I thought that I had to do something for once in my life,” Yew answered in a low voice. “I thought this was the easiest way to get there.”

Celadine slapped her forehead and shook her head vigorously. “There _is_ no easy way! Whatever dream you had in your life, you just chose the hardest path to tread on. Sure, it is the shortest path to success in a matter of speaking; but it is also the hardest one to take!”

“Stop it, Celadine,” Irene reprimanded. “Don’t get carried away.”

“Cela, I know your intentions are genuine, but you are overdoing it,” Harris added.

Celadine pursed her lips and guiltily nodded.

Harris then placed his hand on Yew’s shoulder. “Listen,” he began. “If this line of work gets too hard for you, Cela and I will do the best we could to make it easier for you, okay?”

 _Trust the ladies’ man to do the talking,_ Celadine chuckled in the inside.

“No one is forcing you, Yew,” Harris added.

“Are you blind?!” Yew raised her voice. “Umber was pretty much forcing me into it!”

Harris blinked and made a pondering look; “Oh yeah, he did,” Harris nodded then turned to Yew. “But knowing Umber, he was giving you a choice; it’s just he’ll be extremely disappointed if one of us backs out.”

Yew sank to the bench and covered her face. Neither one of the three said a word.

Harris was about to reach out to Yew, only to flinch as she quietly said; “I’m going to be alright. Maybe I’m just reacting like this because it’s past my bedtime. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” With that said, Yew stood up and descended the stairs.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?” Harris called out.

Yew turned around. “I’ll find out tomorrow,” she replied.

By the time Yew left, Irene turned to Harris with a malicious grin.

“There you go again,” she nudged Harris by the arm. “For all I care, I could fall for you if I were in her position.”

“Knock it off,” Harris pushed her away. “It’s not like I was trying to seduce her or anything. I can’t help but feel for her.”

“Same here,” Celadine raised her hand. “I would do the same, if I didn’t burst out like that. I suppose the lack of sleep made me impatient again.”

“Anyway,” Irene changed the subject. “I think those greenhorns will need to rely on you two and Umber from now on. Of all of us in squad 49, you two are the only ones who received proper training and education in the classified files.”

“We’re not that great, though,” Celadine confessed.

“That’s because you were too lazy in revising those case files and reporting them,” Harris knocked Celadine in the head. “Even you needed to be hammered like a nail to be able to do what you are told.”

Celadine pouted; “Sorry for being useless.”

In the corner of Celadine’s eye, she saw a figure descending the stairs. “Oh my, getting all riled up this early in the morning? The sun isn’t even up yet.”

Celadine widened her eyes as the figure revealed to be one of the two Telenars; Telenar Ray.

“I am sorry sir,” Celadine bowed her head. “I am sorry for making such a racket in this time of the day.”

“You’ve done no harm,” Telenar Ray shook his head with a smile. “I just wanted to meet with Admiral Spike’s protectors.”

Celadine gulped at the burden of her responsibility.

“You’re giving us too much credit,” Harris chuckled. “We are not extraordinary as you think we are. We are just hired guns.”

“Hired guns or not,” the Telenar spoke in a friendly manner. “You are entrusted to protect good friends of mine, and with that, I trust that you will do everything in your care for these people.”

Irene then finally spoke out; “Telenar Ray?”

“Yes?” the man asked.

“Why was it necessary to reveal Berene?” Irene spoke with an honest voice. “I know I have no right to question the motives of our leaders, but it does not add up as to reveal the existence of Berene. So, why did you do it?”

“Oh well, it’s quite simple really,” Telenar Ray explained enthusiastically, much to the three’s surprise. “I don’t want to lie to this nation; I really don’t. And so does Telenar Natalie. Both of us don’t want people to think that Gildaar is a nation who are after the diamonds that were found in that land. Berene is a land that shouldn’t be owned by anyone else but by the people themselves. I don’t want to make the same mistake the British made in the Northern Realms. If we discover a new land with people in it, we won’t invade it. I think that the rest of the Mystic Isles should do the same.”

“That’s,” Harris paused, “That’s kind of childish to think that way. You’re right: it is too simple.”

“Ah, the method is simple,” the man nodded. “But to put it into action is the hardest part. But let’s just keep this a secret between ourselves.”

Irene chuckled as Harris smiled.

“Oh, look,” Telenar Ray pointed at the window. From where they all stood, the dark, clear sky that was full of stars sparkled. “In a few more hours, the dawn will be coming soon.”

Irene then said; “I guess I’d better go then,” and disappeared into the corridor.

“I suppose that means me,” said Celadine.

“I suppose we do need to prepare for tomorrow,” Harris agreed.

“Oh, sorry,” the Telenar wore a startled look on his face. “I didn’t realise that I was hindering you.”

“No need,” Harris assured. “In fact, it was an honour to talk to you, sir.”

“Yes it was,” Celadine added; stretching out her hand before the great leader.

Telenar Ray clasped her hand and squeezed it. “In all honesty, I am still not used to be treated like a celebrity or something like that. But it is a pleasure to be of service to you then.”

Celadine gave a little bow as she wore a big grin on her face. _Who would have thought one of our leaders was this down-to-earth?_ Celadine trotted away from the platform, waving the Telenar and her brother farewell.

Celadine pondered at the new assignment that was given to squad 49. For what purpose did they choose her squad of all the squads within the Juniper League? Celadine considered that it was probably Umber’s abilities or former rank that made the higher ups in JLAC chooses their squad instead of the elite members.

“Sometimes these things won’t make sense from square one,” Celadine muttered, “Perhaps this was the best method of making the newbies be more exposed to the kind of field work we do here.”

She held onto that thought, only to let it slip by her the moment she laid on her own bunk bed. _Worry about this one later,_ Celadine thought and closed her eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

_It wasn’t like I was unable to protect her; it was more like I wasn’t able to grasp the bigger picture. Why me? Why her? Why us?_

Harris leaned against the window as he sat by the nook; staring at the vast landscape.

 _The league was too kind to take us in despite our background,_ Harris pondered, _at what price would I be willing to pay to make up for their support?_

It took Harris and Celadine five years to realize how different they were from everyone else. Ever since they were taken in by the Juniper League, the two siblings were treated more like prized possessions by those who knew their roots. Even though Harris had the heart to look out for his newly-appointed squadron, he couldn’t help but compare their problems to what he had faced in the past.

“How would they know?” Harris laughed at the thought. “Who else, besides Celadine would understand what kind of hell we’ve been through?”

He lifted his sleeve to reveal a long gash wound that ran along his wrist to his elbow. Harris winced at memory. The very thought of it fuelled his rage.

* * *

 

_We were sheltered compared to other children within the bandwagon. Our parents kept us close to them as much as they could. They worked their pay; they fed us with little that they could afford. To say that I knew how much they loved us was something I can only say in words. Words are nothing compared to what they truly did for us._

Celadine was only nine years old when it happened. It was a fateful event that neither Harris nor Celadine herself would want to forget.

_It was unavoidable that we were going to be chosen to be the next ‘three-ringed mages.’ But what did not make sense was why did they want Harris more than me?_

_“She’s the perfect child for the next three-ringed mage,” one of the many faceless men boldly announced._

_“What of the boy?”_

_“I do not know why, but I can sense a great power in him. He does not show signs of being endowed, but I feel in my gut that he has a potential of so much more.”_

_“How do you know that?”_

_“Believe me,” the man gave a sickly grin. “I could sense endowed people by the smell of their blood. If I was not as generous as I am today; I would have sucked their blood by now.”_

Celadine felt sick at the mere memory of the man’s face. By the very thoughts of the man’s words had brought her close to spewing her insides out in the middle of sorting out her belongings.

“Are you okay?” Irene asked with caution.

“Yeah,” Celadine lied. “I just remembered a horrible dream I had last night.”

“You look like you ate something horrible,” Irene dragged the subject. “Are you seriously okay?”

“I’m fine, okay?!” Celadine raised her voice. A handful of people turned to her direction.

Celadine reddened at the sudden attention she was gaining.

“Cela, can you lower that volume for a bit, please,” Irene said under her breath. “You’re embarrassing yourself.”

“Sorry,” Celadine spoke in a quiet demeanour.

Irene gave out a long breath, “Geez, sorry for worrying too much.”

Celadine didn’t say a word as she pondered: _there’s no point in leaving the past; but there is no point in dragging it to the present._

But nevertheless, Celadine held onto the thought as she placed her belongings into her personal drawer.

“Irene,” Celadine began. “Sorry about that.”

“So does that mean you’ll tell me what’s in your mind?” Irene asked in her mischievous manner.

“No, all you’ll hear from me are bickering’s of an overgrown child,” Celadine said mercilessly.

“Maturity doesn’t come with age after all.”

“Excuse me?!”

“Look,” Irene pointed at Celadine. “I’m just worried about you; you don’t look as chirpy as you were yesterday, so I thought, _‘heck, why not ask what made you go all pale.’_ Is it really that hard to answer to such a simple question?”

“…Perhaps another time,” Celadine answered quickly. “Besides, after that last insult, I had already forgotten why I was so upset about it.”

“No fair,” Irene protested, seemingly able to see through Celadine’s lie. “Can’t you at least give a hint?”

“Not a chance,” Celadine smirked.

“Listen, Cel,” Irene spoke in a more serious tone. “It doesn’t hurt to speak about your problems.”

“Can’t you respect my own private affairs?” Celadine retaliated. “Look, I asked you what happened to you before and you never answered. I think it’s fair that in turn, I won’t share my sob story to someone who won’t even respond to things I am not allowed to ask about.”

“That’s not the point-”

“It is as simple as that,” Celadine interrupted. “I think that we all have a bag of bones to shoulder ourselves to the grave. So, please Irene, at the very least you have got to respect someone’s personal space.”

Irene then sulkily turned away in a pout with Celadine sighing at the stubbornness of her comrade.

The girl paused for a moment and muttered; “I wonder what kind of people are they.”

“Who,” Irene asked.

“The people we’re going to be protecting,” Celadine added. “The Explorer was one; is she the girl with the golden hair we saw?”

“Of course that’s her,” Irene sourly responded. Celadine guessed that her last remark wounded Irene’s pride. “Not that I care.”

Celadine stood up and left the room.

“Where are you going?” Irene asked by the time Celadine swung the door open half-way.

“A drink,” Celadine nonchalantly said. _If I don’t leave you alone, I’d be dealing with your sulking until you cool your head._

Celadine shut the door and headed straight for the cafeteria; only to stop at the sight of Harris sitting by the lounging area of the floor.

“Hey,” Celadine greeted.

“Yo,” Harris responded.

Celadine turned her heel and paced towards Harris’ side. “Are you done with all the packing up?”

“Yeah,” Harris answered. “Are you?”

“Pretty much,” Celadine sat next to Harris.

A period of silence followed.

“Harris, do you remember?” Celadine finally said.

“Remember what?” Harris asked casually.

“Oh y’know,” Celadine nudged Harris by the shoulder, “That day when we left to live in JLAC’s main facility.”

“How could I forget,” Harris smiled.

“I still remember how I felt back then; being able to live in a big house and clean surroundings,” Celadine recounted. “I remember how much it felt like a dream.”

“What brought this up?” Harris asked.

“Just thinking about things,” Celadine answered and darkened her words. “Actually, I just had a dream about that place.”

“Oh,” Harris nodded. “I see. So it was about _that_ time, huh.”

Celadine nodded and shivered at the thought.

“You haven’t been able to use that skill of yours since that time, huh?” Harris continued.

“Hmm,” Celadine nodded once more. “It looks like I can’t use my abilities whenever I want it to come out. It is as if I can only use it at times whenever I _need_ it to come out; not when I _want_ it to come out.”

“Who knows,” Harris remarked. “Maybe that is the way the Lord of Life wanted it.”

“Yeah,” Celadine nodded. “Perhaps that’s probably the reason.”

After another period of silence, Harris then said; “Have you heard anything about Iles and Nara?”

“No,” Celadine answered. “Not really. Far from it. Even if we did, I think that the mages would have found us by now.”

“True.”

The intercom buzzed as a voice began; _“Squad members 49 Juniper, Squad members 49 Juniper; if you are available within the mansion premises, please report to the east wing on floor eight. I repeat; Squad member 49 Juniper; please report to the east wing on floor eight.”_

“Floor eight?” Celadine pondered. “What’s the rush? Isn’t it a little too early for this sort of thing?”

“Plans changed, it seems,” Harris guessed.

“How would you know?” Celadine asked.

Harris stood up; “I don’t know,” he said shrugged.

The two siblings ascended the stairs in silence; as Celadine continued to dwell upon the days of the past. _So much has changed,_ she repeated, _how long it has been since those days._

 _“I am sure,”_ Celadine whispered, _“I am sure that if we were able to go back, I would have already forgotten what it was like to live humbly.”_

 

Harris turned to his sister, who appeared to be lost in thought.

 _Cela,_ Harris thought, _I suppose there’s a lot of things that you wished to hold onto._

“A burden,” Harris mumbled instinctively.

Celadine perked at Harris’ mumbling; “Did you say something?”

It was apparent that he didn’t realize that he said his thoughts out loud.

“Oh,” Harris said to his surprise, “I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

“I thought I was the only one,” Celadine sarcastically said, “oh well, not that it matters.”

 _Compared to me,_ Harris continued to ponder, _you would face that past to the end; rather than hide from it._

Harris stretched his hand out to his sister and ruffled her hair.

“What’s this?” Celadine asked in her dissatisfied monotone, “something on your mind?”

Harris chuckled; “not really. I’m just thinking that you need a break. Since I can’t do anything, I suppose you have to figure a way out in dwelling in the past too much.”

“I guess so,” Celadine nodded. “Aren’t you the same?”

“Nah,” Harris shrugged, “I’d rather forget.”

“I suppose.”

After a period of silence, Harris then said; “What would happen if everything didn’t happen?”

“What do you mean?” Celadine asked.

“What happened if we were born in a different environment?” Harris said.

“Ah,” Celadine said in a thoughtful manner. “I think that we wouldn’t be like this today. In fact, I think that I would be no different from those unmotivated kids.”

“That’s harsh,” Harris remarked, as he presumed that she was referring to the other members of the squad. “It’s not like we weren’t any different before we left.”

“Their perception is limited since they never knew what it was like to leave their comfort zone,” Celadine added mercilessly, “People may try to empathise or understand, but they can’t grasp it until they have been through an event that would shake their world.”

Harris scoffed at Celadine’s words; “what made you think like this? You weren’t this pessimistic before.”

“Ahahahah,” Celadine laughed, “Sorry, I got a little self-indulgent there. I’m just so upset about that dream that it’s preventing me from looking at the bright side of things.”

“You have a funny way of showing it.”

With that said, Harris slapped Celadine in the back with a hard swing.


	4. Chapter 4

“This is outrageous! I refuse to be guarded like some kind of misbehaved kid!” The notorious Admiral protested.

“Look here,” Conway While explained, “for as long as the SGI and the Eagle’s Council are still underway with their investigation, we have no choice but to have these people be on a lookout on our safety.”

“But I can take care of myself,” Admiral Spike pouted, “You should know that more than anyone else.”

“Sir,” Victor, Spike’s right-hand man explained, “I think they just wanted someone to hold you back. After all, you always manage to find ways of causing a ruckus wherever you go.”

“An SGI officer like me,” Spike thumped his fist to his chest, “doesn’t need that kind of protection.”

“Ahem,” Telenar Natalie cleared her throat, “Spike, I think that Victor has a good point; you made too many enemies in the past and these days, they’ve been coming at you to return a favour.”

“Is this why you’re calling the squad a day early?” Spike sourly asked.

“Partly,” Telenar Ray answered.

A knock was heard from the door and was swung open to reveal one of the security staff.

“Um, excuse me,” the young lad timidly said, “squad 49 Juniper is in the east wing; should I bring them here?”

“Yes,” Telenar Ray said hastily, “bring them here please.”

The door swung wide open as five individuals entered the room.

“Five huh,” Spike commented, “Where’s the other two?”

“They are on their way,” answered one of the members.

“I am so sorry I am late!” a man with a bundle of folder and books ran into the room.

“Daniel!” Spike greeted cheerily. “I knew you were in the mansion; I just didn’t know where.”

“I can’t say,” Daniel heaved his belongings to a coffee table, “I am not allowed to even go out of the room without permission. So my lips are sealed.”

“Now, where are Irin Jay Hues and the Explorer?” Telenar Natalie asked.

“I bet they got lost in this place,” Spike chuckled, “I can’t blame them.”

“Martin,” Telenar Ray called one of the staff members, “you do know where the two others are, right?”

“Two others,” the man said, “do mean Squad 49 or the other two guests?”

“The latter,” Ray answered, “don’t make any announcements, just get them here.”

“Sorry we’re late.”

The golden haired girl paced into to the room, dragging Irin by the arm.

“Irin here, got lost since it’s his first time in this mansion,” the Explorer explained.

The man whom Spike presumed was Irin dropped his jaw the moment he turned to the Telenar’s direction.

“Irin Jay Hues, I presume?” Telenar Natalie asked in a low voice.

“Y-yes,” the man stuttered.

“I have heard rumours of your past,” Telenar Natalie began. “And I am very sorry that it had to come to this.”

“No,” Irin shook his head, “my betrayal was my choice alone. I was prepared to do what is necessary in order to fulfil Miss Maze’s wishes.”

“Good answer,” Telenar Ray said in a strong tone. Then with a clap of his hand, the Telenar said; “Now that all of this is said and done; shall we begin?”

* * *

 

“We were all hoping that the SGI agents who took care of me could hold on for a little bit longer in their shift,” Irin explained, “but then there was someone who leaked the information of where I was hiding at the time. The SGI agents were outnumbered; so there was no other choice than to put me under the protection of the Telenars of Gildaar.”

“As much as we are willing to offer these people our protection,” Telenar Ray interjected to Irin’s words, “this mansion is not built to house refugees or fugitives. There is a limit to what we can offer.”

“We have to be fair and consistent to our word as your leaders,” Telenar Natalie added. “If we allowed you to remain here as a form of asylum; it seems as though we are obliged to allow everyone else to live here.”

“It must be hard,” Harris muttered.

“Shh!” Umber hissed at Harris.

“You don’t need to be so formal,” Spike said nonchalantly.

Celadine bit her lip at the strangeness of the atmosphere. Despite the fact that they were all in the presence of the leaders of Gildaar; the atmosphere seemed too ordinarily casual. This very fact made the rest of the squadron stiffer than they were the other day. Harris on the other hand was no doubt reading the atmosphere.

“Spike says its fine, so it’s fine,” Harris said as he took a seat beside the Admiral.

The urge to slap her forehead seemed very tempting to Celadine. _You didn’t even address him by his title… Don’t make things harder as it is for the rest of us!_ Celadine looked away and gritted her teeth, feeling embarrassed at her brother’s casual attitude.

“Ah,” Spike said, appearing to have realized something; “I forgot that the Juniper League members tend to try to look reliable or professional.”

“So that means that their stiffness is their trademark?” Telenar Natalie concluded.

“Seems like it,” Telenar Ray said and sipped his tea.

“Are you making fun of us?!” Celadine yelled, agitated.

Umber sighed as Irene slowly placed her palm to her forehead. Yew bit her lip.

Spike gave out a boisterous laugh. “There’s always a compulsive one.”

Telenar Natalie ushered; “hey now, you’re embarrassing them.”

Telenar Ray smiled and said; “We don’t want people to treat us like royals, okay? I mean, it’s good that you are showing us your respect for your leaders; but you don’t need to be all stiff around us when we are speaking in this distance.”

The Telenars gestured to the seats.

Celadine reddened and turned to her fellow squadron; all avoided her eye-contact. _Is that the latest way of say ‘it’s all your fault’?_ Celadine sulkily sat next to her brother.

“Nice way of going.” Harris whispered.

“Whose fault was that, huh?” Celadine said in a hissed whisper.

“I guess it can’t be helped,” Umber finally said and took a seat beside the Explorer. The rest of the squadron available gave him dubious looks.

“You can sit down now,” Umber beckoned, “Since the Telenars insisted.”

The squadron sat down on the seats cautiously.

“Now, jokes all aside,” Spike clapped his fist to his other palm, “I think Irin has more to share on his part; considering that he was the only survivor among us who encountered these terrorists.”

“Yes,” Irin nodded, “What I can tell you though is not enough information, despite the fact that I was once part of their league. This is the thing; Miss Maze said that she was betrayed, but she couldn’t let others know because she feared for their safety; including me.”

“The old bat never trusted anyone from the very beginning,” Spike commented.

“That’s _Miss Maze_ to you,” Irin corrected in a scowl, “She said so herself: _‘I can’t risk the safety of my men for the sake of the truth. You are all dismissed.’_ And that was the last of her.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Celadine stopped Irin. “I don’t understand. I don’t understand what you just said; you said that you betrayed the organisation that was keeping Berene a secret. But then this _‘Miss Maze’_ happened to be the leader of the organisation and yet you said that _‘you were prepared to do what is necessary in order to fulfil Miss Maze’s wishes’;_ it’s so confusing that it’s boggling my head here.”

“Irin here aided us,” Spike explained, “Irin betrayed Miss Maze’s organisation, and it’s true. But what happened was that in the end it was the organisation that betrayed its own founder, as if they stabbed her in the back. It seems to me that Miss Maze supported the revelation of Berene to the whole of Mystic Isles, and the organisation didn’t want that to happen.”

“That still doesn’t make any sense,” Celadine insisted.

“Oh, you don’t have to understand,” Spike gave a cheeky smile. “All you need to do is just watch over us like night hawks.”

“Was that out of spite that you just said that, just then?” Celadine said nonchalantly.

The entire room fell into an awkward silence.

Harris swatted Celadine on the head.

“What was that for?!” Celadine shouted at Harris.

“What do you think?” Harris said mercilessly.

“The girl’s sharp, don’t you think?” Victor chuckled.

“I take it back,” Spike sneered, “I think I might enjoy this company after all.”

“I feel sorry for them already,” Daniel said pityingly.

“As I was saying,” Irin cleared his throat, “Because Miss Maze herself was betrayed, it’s safe to presume that she is not the cause for the deaths of those explorers and the disappearances of the others. I personally think that it is all possible that Berenians themselves are the people behind it.”

“You’re kidding,” Conway said doubtfully, “I am sure that Miss Maze isn’t as honest as you think she is. She killed my father for the sake of hiding the truth.”

Celadine jerked at Conway’s words. _His father,_ Celadine thought and clenched the fabric of her pants.

“I know you’ve got something against that old bat, but I think you should put your personal problems aside,” the Admiral said in a consoling tone, “I am not disregarding your feelings; it is just that you need to see the bigger picture in these things.”

“It’s a plausible conclusion,” Daniel added, “I myself would think that the Berenians themselves would hate to have their diamonds taken from them.”

“You weren’t there in the expedition, Daniel,” Victor corrected, “Have you seen the people there? The people who reside in there are an equivalent to bushmen; and that says a lot. It’s improbable to think that Berenians would have the technology and skill to kidnap and even shoot people with bullets. They have swords, sticks and stones for crying out loud!”

“I don’t get it,” the Explorer intervened, “Miss Maze has always been good to us, but in the end; she did those things and now this?”

“All with reveal itself when the time comes,” Telenar Natalie said in revere manner, “that was what the oracle had always said when we first came here.”

“But at the moment,” Telenar Ray added, “Your safety is our top priority at the moment. Speaking of that, where are the rest of the squadron?”

“They are unavailable at the moment, it seems,” Umber said, “My guess is that they left for headquarters as soon as the assignment was given to them. They live in the dorms, you see.”

“I suppose that is quite troublesome,” Conway muttered, “Considering that we all agreed to have them here a day early.”

“Why not inform the main facility,” Irene suggested.

“No,” the Explorer shook her head, “we won’t take chances since the Juniper League is technically vulnerable since it is considered neutral territory.”

“What do you mean?” Celadine asked.

“We decided not to trust the higher ups of JLAC, considering that JLAC is almost like a library of information that can be accessed by anyone in the name of the government. As much as they already know that squad 49 was assigned to protect us; only those of the SGI and Eagle’s Council would know the exact location of where we will be stationed in.”

“In other words,” Yew stuttered her words, “If I may; you mean to say that JLAC is not an organisation with a cause but a recruitment organisation?”

“It’s complicated, Yew,” Celadine said, “It’ll take a long time for anyone one of us to explain how the system works.”

“But Lysias and Ren are not here,” Harris said with a slight concern in his voice, “How are we to proceed with the mission if they are not available?”

“I suppose it doesn’t hurt to have two people short,” Spike shrugged his shoulders, “Besides, I could protect myself.”

“I wish to object to that,” Umber insisted, “I say that it is fair for the other two to participate in this assignment; after all, they need the experience in this field.”

 _UMBER!_ Celadine darted a glare at her officer. _Didn’t you say that it’s better if they don’t know we have zero experience on any field?!!_

“Do you mean to say that this squad is inexperienced?” Telenar Ray asked.

“In this field, yes,” Umber quickly said.

Celadine felt rattled at Umber’s response. _You’re not gonna dig your way out of this one easily, are you?!_

“That’s a problem,” Daniel scratched his head, “Wouldn’t that make us all the more vulnerable?”

“Hey, don’t sweat it,” the Explorer weighed her arm down Daniel’s shoulder, “Give these guys a chance; they gotta start somewhere right?”

“Thank you,” Umber said in quiet relief, or so Celadine had presumed. “I promise you that Squad 49 won’t fail you and will protect you till this fiasco is finished. So in turn, please don’t consider taking off any of my subordinates.”

“Well said,” Victor said in clear admiration, “I love your determination.”

“Either way doesn’t matter to me,” Spike said and took a handful of nuts from the bowl, “But I am sure you’ll tire yourself if you stick with me 24/7.”

“You don’t really like us, do you?” Celadine said bluntly.

The Admiral gave a small glance at Celadine and laughed; “Hah, do I really look antagonistic to you? No, it’s not that I don’t like JLAC; I just don’t like to be babysat by anyone who is part of a big organisation. Don’t misunderstand, I am open to any guy whose willing to help or is need of help.”

 _“For some reason, I suddenly feel irritated by this guy,”_ Celadine murmured to Harris.

“I get that a lot,” Spike cheerily said, “Oh, and by the way, no sound escapes my ears. Just so you know.”

A sudden urge to grab the Admiral didn’t seem like a bad idea for Celadine. _Embarrassing me?!_ Celadine seethed. _This guy…_

“You’re very observant, aren’t you,” Spike continued bantering. “I think I’m starting to see why they hired squad 49-”

Celadine couldn’t hold it in any further; “What is that supposed to-!”

“CELADINE! KNOW YOUR PLACE!” Umber boomed. “You should show some respect to an important figure of the public! Now pipe down and behave yourself.”

The room fell into another period of silence, with Celadine gritting her teeth at the thought of further humiliation.

“I apologize on behalf of my subordinate,” Umber solemnly said, “she tends to be a little bit compulsive at times. You know; the heart-over-head type of person.”

“Then, I suppose that’s troublesome in the line of duty, right?” Daniel said.

“Either way does not matter,” Spike mercilessly said, “Everyone will realize in their own time. But one thing I do know is that if you follow your head too much, you’ll lose your humanity. If you use your heart, you’ll lose your logic. Just saying.”

The Telenars nodded to the Admiral’s words, seemingly approving his words. Admiration was sparkling in Irene’s eyes as others wore blank expressions.

 _This is the pits,_ Celadine’s rage churned in her thoughts, _if I say one thing; it’s an insult from another._

Throughout the rest of the meeting, Celadine sat on her seat in silence as the rest of the people in the room continued their conversations. Harris on the other hand, had also kept silent; darting a glare at his own sister with an occasional side-glance.

* * *

 

It wasn’t long till the meeting was over; by the time Lysias and Ren had arrived, the mission had just begun.

“You will all be assigned to these locations,” Umber handed over yellow envelopes to each of the squadrons. “The squad will be split into two groups; depending on the situation, we might reorder the groups. I am assigning Harris with Lysias and Yew. I will be with Celadine, Irene and Ren.”

“Aw, but I want to be with Harris,” Celadine protested on reflex.

“No buts,” Umber barked, “At this point, I am assigning you two to two different groups based on your experiences. Even though all of you are still greenhorns, among all of you; Celadine and Harris are the ones who are more exposed to the training and the fields of work. Do understand?”

Celadine bit her lip. Being scolded by the same officer twice has brought more humiliation to herself more than anything. Harris on the other hand seemed more embarrassed for Celadine instead.

“All of you have to be ready by twenty minutes,” Umber continued, “If you failed to reach the van by that time, consider yourself out of this assignment. And you all know the consequences of being removed from a task, now do you?”

“Yes sir!” the squadron answered in salute.

“Good,” Umber gave a satisfied nod, “Dismissed.”

The squadron left to their separate ways, with Harris giving Celadine a glum look.

“What?” Celadine defensively said, “I already know what I just did.”

“Why do you keep embarrassing yourself?” Harris shook his head as he covered his eyes with his hand, “With an attitude like that; you’re bound to end up digging your own grave.”

Celadine snapped; “Well I can’t help it-!”

Harris grabbed Celadine’s head and knocked it hard with his. The impact left both siblings dizzy.

“What the heck was that for?!” Celadine cried out.

“You’re too stubborn to understand!” Harris barked back, “Maybe if you were a little more open-minded; you’d be able to realize what kind of fool you’re making yourself out to be!”

Celadine inhaled a long breath and turned her heel. “I give up; talking to you will only make things worse,” Celadine said and left Harris behind.

“Geez,” Harris shook his head. “When will you ever learn?”

Harris rubbed his forehead where he bumped his head on Celadine’s. It was apparent that it was bound to turn into a bruise.

“Now look what you made me do,” he muttered as he staggered his way in the hallway.

 

“How old are you gonna be till you’ll have some sense of control?” Irene jeered, “Honestly, I feel sorry for Harris already.”

“Knock it off,” Celadine muttered.

“Just because you have a face that could deceive any Northerner of your age, doesn’t make you anything close to your true age,” Irene continued to banter, “I’ve seen people who are way younger than you who act more mature than what you.”

“Can you stop comparing me?” Celadine lashed out, “I’m tired of you comparing me to those Northerners that you speak so highly of. They mature quicker because their bodies age quicker than ours; can’t you just accept the fact that I can be able to grow up in my own pace, at my own time?!”

Irene fell silent for a moment as Irene continued gathering her belongings.

“Yeah,” Irene finally said, “I wonder how many years will you waste until you realize how much you wasted?”

“What was that?!” Celadine barked.

“Forget it,” Irene changed the subject, “You may be older, but it seems as though you’ve regressed.”

 _You don’t know what it’s like,_ Irene thought. _If only you knew. Since you don’t listen, I won’t say it._

Celadine then left the room as she reminded Irene of Umber’s instructions.

Irene nodded at Celadine and turned to her drawer. She took out her ID card from her wallet and read;

_Name: Irene Horus_

_D.O.B. x/xx/xxxx_

_P.O.B. (Place of Birth): Australia, Northern Realms_


	5. Chapter 5

It was a hard rain. The rain never ceased. The rain never scattered; it only splattered when it landed upon the surface.

This was the past. Celadine had nothing else to offer than her own life.

 _“Please,”_ she pleaded. _“Please spare his life.”_

 _“Whatever happens will set a course of a never ending cycle,”_ the man gravely said.

 _“I will not let him die!”_ Celadine insisted.

 _“Your brother has the gift,”_ the man said, _“A rarity that can be called a phenomenon. Not one single member of your family has ever had an endowed member. Of course, this phenomenon will only last for a time. After that moment has past, his gift will return to its rightful place.”_

 _“But I don’t want him to have it!”_ Celadine cried out, _“You don’t understand, do you?!”_

 _“Of course I understand,”_ the man assured.

 _“Then why?”_ Celadine quivered, _“Why did it have to be him? Why did he have to be born with a gift that the mages wanted? In fact, why did you save me, and not him?!”_

The man rested his hand upon Celadine’s small head and ruffled it.

 _“Celadine,”_ he began, _“No, rather, ‘Celandine’ the incorruptible, you are brought here because I have come to make a request; will you be so willing to take your brother’s place in order to fulfil what is to come?”_

Celadine hesitated, _“what do you mean?”_

 

“What do mean by _what do you mean?_ ” Lysias asked.

Celadine woke up and suddenly remembered that the entire squad was in the van, escorting the five explorers of Berene. She sighed in relief, but soured at the memory of her dream. _Dammit,_ she thought, _that dream again._

Lysias happened to sit to the seat next to her in the van; with Irene and Yew poking their heads from the seats before Celadine.

“Yes, Celadine,” Irene smiled mercilessly, “Do tell.”

Celadine gave sour frown. “None of your business,” she tossed the subject away.

“Looks like the Tranis siblings have a knack of sleeping in vehicles don’t they?” Irene said in clear amusement. “Not to mention that this one here talks in her sleep.”

“You make us sound like some kind of rare species,” Celadine said glumly.

“It’s funny though,” Yew added, “it has only been thirty minutes and you and Harris were already knocked out.”

“A drive that goes for almost an hour and a half is long enough to catch up some sleep,” Celadine groaned, “For a long time, Harris and I have always had the habit of sleeping late.”

“Don’t we all?” Irene said.

“I prefer to sleep in long drives,” Celadine said with a yawn.

“So you’re one of those types,” Lysias remarked.

“Oh well,” Celadine shrugged as she leaned against the car window.

“…Now that I think about it,” Lysias began with a thoughtful look, “Up this close, you have this face that can be mistaken for a guy.”

“…huh?” Celadine moved inches away from Lysias.

“I know right?” Irene chuckled, “My thoughts exactly when I first met her: _‘too pretty to be a guy; too handsome to be a girl’._ For a moment, it kind of scared me a bit.”

“…Right,” Celadine nodded slowly, unable to fathom both Lysias and Irene’s words. “So in other words, my face can deceive others if I wear men’s clothes.”

“To be honest,”Lysias began to point out, “Forgive me if I insulted you; but the stuff you wear is the sort of clothes that could be worn by both genders. If it were not for your attitude and feminine gestures, I would be in a sorry state, trying to figure out which gender are you.”

“Not to mention,” Conway joined in, “You managed to cut your hair in such a length that is applicable to both genders.”

“Ahahah,” Celadine scratched her head, “I don’t like my hair long. Curls and long hair don’t mix well.”

“I suppose that is a point,” Irene commented and pushed back a lock of her curled hair behind her ear.

Celadine leaned forward and turned to the direction of Conway, who happened to be sitting across her.

“Excuse me,” Celadine began, “You are Conway While, right? I hate to be rude but, you mentioned that your father was killed and it had something to do with Berene, right?”

Celadine then realised of what she said and turned to her sleeping brother. She recalled his constant reminder; _‘can you please stop being so insensitive? It’s unprofessional.’_ Celadine jerked at the thought of her memories.

“Actually, never mind,” Celadine said quickly, “forget that I asked.”

“Oh, no,” Conway said, “It’s alright, in fact, I don’t mind at all. My father, Darren While was a great geographer and explorer at the time. He was in fact a good friend of the Explorer. He was, I think, the man who discovered the existence of Berene through a journal that he was able to decipher. My mother often said that his curiosity had often led him into trouble. But I suppose it was because of his curiosity did it lead him into his death after his encounter with Miss Maze.

“I was still a young boy when it happened,” Conway continued with a sigh, “I wish that I could say that I was old enough at the time to say that I truly loved him or was very attached to him, but I’m not. I was closer to my mother, you see. When the news broke out that his body was found after many months of searching, I guess it is cold of me to think; _‘oh, so he died’_ without an inch of sadness. I was more upset of not feeling upset than upset that I lost a father.”

“Were there any regrets, now that you are old enough to know these things,” Celadine asked cautiously.

“Yes,” Conway nodded with a thoughtful gaze. “I wish I could have known him better.”

 

“So this is the place?”

“Sure is,” Umber answered with a smirk on his face.

“So,” the Explorer said with her eyes focused in the direction of the sky, “Are you sure that this is the best place to hide?”

“What’s wrong with it,” Spike asked as he dragged his luggage out of the boot.

“It looks too… conspicuous.”

Indeed it was. In the midst of the country plains, at the top of hill; there stood a great mansion that could rival to that of the Telenars’. The very sight of it was enough to make a poor mouse faint.

“Well, since they expected that we’d be hiding in a place that is _in_ conspicuous, they wouldn’t think that we’d be hiding here,” Spike continued, “In fact: I believe this place is perfect.”

Celadine and the rest of squad 49 remained silent.

“No reaction, whatsoever?” Spike said when he turned around.

“Shouldn’t we be doing a clean sweep before we let these guys enter the mansion?” Lysias asked.

 _“Clean sweep?”_ Yew repeated his words, “What do you mean by that?”

“Lysias is right,” Celadine confirmed his words, “Standard protocol when being a body guard involves inspecting every nook and cranny before entering the protected premises. Officer Umber, why is it that we aren’t doing that first?”

“Oh, that,” Umber chuckled, “I’ve heard rumours about this place. I think it’s safe not to do a clean sweep here.”

“And why not?” Celadine dragged out one of the baggage from the boot.

“You’ll find out,” Spike confidently said with a wink and raised a thumb.

The group unloaded the luggage and entered the mansion. The first room they entered was clouded with dust and cobwebs. The furniture was covered with white sheets of fabric. The floors in itself were caked with dust and dust-mites.

“Open the windows,” Spike ordered, “Looks like no one bothered to even clean this place.”

The entire squad pushed the windows open, letting the fresh air enter the house.

“It can’t be helped,” Spike continued as he pulled out a bag and a bucket, “It was a good thing I was prepared.”

“You’ve been here before?” Daniel asked.

“This mansion stood as old as the Frost War, my friend,” Spike said triumphantly, “Ah, the good memories we had in this place.”

“Frost War?” Irene asked, “You’re not referring to the _‘Cold war’_ right?”

“Nope,” Spike said, “Seriously, what do they teach kids these days? The word _‘Frost’_ was referring to the man who led the war; ‘Frost-Hand.’ Long story; just read the text book.”

“This place is amazing,” Celadine then glanced at the large spider that had crawled up onto the ceiling, “If it were not for this mess.”

“Ew, is that a daddy longlegs?” Irene squirmed.

“Better than ogre-faced spiders,” Celadine shuddered at the thought.

“Looks like this whole place needs a clean sweep after all,” Harris chuckled.

Ren said nothing but nodded with a sneeze.

“Okay, then,” Umber rolled up his sleeve. “Let’s start cleaning.”

“Where’s the sink?”

“It should be ahead there somewhere,” Spike answered.

 “I’ll be exploring here for a bit,” without waiting for a response, the Explorer hastened to the closest door.

“Wait a sec,” Spike grabbed the little girl by the back of her collar. “You’ve got to watch your step.”

“Why’s that?” the Explorer pouted.

“There are traps in this mansion,” Spike answered bluntly.

The entire crowd fell silent.

Typically, Celadine was the first to react; “T-Traps?!”

“Yes,” Spike nodded mischievously, “Traps.”

“Then this place is a hazard in itself!” Celadine said exasperatedly.

To Celadine’s surprise, the majority of the crowd agreed with her.

“Why did you say this place doesn’t need a clean sweep?” Harris asked.

“Because if you did, you’ll be the ones who’ll be swept away. After all, this was once a training ground for urban warfare after the Frost War and before that, a prison facility that tortures answers out of the prisoners.”

…………….. _Wut?_

“We’re gonna die here, aren’t we?” Yew quickly said, her face shifted from pale to a bluish complexion.

“Oh, don’t worry. I know this place like the back of my hand! All you need to do is avoid everything coloured red,” spoke Spike as he stepped on a floor board that triggered the chandelier to fall.

The girls shrieked, the others yelped as the crystal and glass was about to crash half-way until it came to a halt.

“See, nothing to worry about. In fact, you all could learn a great deal of combat within the Mansion of Traps.”

“…Why do I get the feeling that the people who we are protecting are the ones trying to kill us?” Ren stuttered his words as he shuddered almost violently.

“No, Ren,” Lysias added, “I think we’ll be in need of protection.”

“This is insane…” Celadine muttered and then raised her voice, “No, THIS IS SUICIDE!”

Spike gave out another of his boisterous laughter.

“You think this is funny?!” Celadine yelled, “Stop laughing you sadist!”

“Ah, sorry,” Spike wiped a tear from his eye, “But this is what happens when people try to babysit me. So, squad 49; just try and watch me. If you could try and protect me and keep an eye on me for the next week or so, then I will put a good word to the higher ups of the JLAC of your… competence.”

And that was how Squad 49 began their first assignment.


End file.
